In a throwback scene unwelcome by most of Peoria, a Northwoods Mall shoe store teetered on mob “chaos,” according to Peoria police. Security guards and Peoria policeman — worried about the safety of others in the mall, including themselves — had to call in reinforcements to disband a throng of more than 100 louts who got unruly while awaiting the sale of the latest Air Jordans.

Even crazier: it was 6:15 a.m. last Saturday. That’s right. The thuggish throng pushed the criminal limit not too long after daybreak.

What is this? Maybe 1989? On the West Side of Chicago?

Air Jordans have been coming out since 1985. By the late 1980s, some schools nationwide started to ban the shoe, which had become so coveted as to spark riots, robberies and even murders. Just do it, all the way to prison.

The sad phenomenon never died out. The new and retro Air Jordans can spark the occasional sales mob (Huntsville, Ala., 2012) and stick-ups (Omaha, Neb., 2013). In Peoria, the shoes have sparked occasional brawls and crimes. As far as Journal Star police briefs go, the latest occurred in November 2012, when a man walking in the 1300 block of Northeast Madison Avenue was robbed at gunpoint for his Air Jordans (the model wasn’t specified).

What makes it so awesome? Hey, I’m a 50-year-old white guy. The ga-ga attraction escapes me. It looks like a basketball high-top. And it costs $170 — plus, in some case, bail money.

The scene didn’t prompt any arrests at Northwoods Mall. Yet cops fretted about a full-blown riot.

The mall opens early, often for walkers — and hours before many stores open around 10 a.m. Mall security officers called Peoria police for help about 6:15 a.m.

More than 100 people had swarmed inside the mall, just outside the front door to Finish Line, an athletic shoe outlet on Northwoods’ lower level.

Jeff Case, mall general manager, declined to comment. But a Peoria police report stated, “According to security officers, the mob had gotten unruly and was causing a problem.”

The report didn’t specify the unruliness. Nor did it describe the age or gender of the group. An officer later said the group ranged from 15 to 30. But the would-be patrons were really amped to get up early (or to stay out all night) for the chance to get their hands on the new Air Jordans.

Page 2 of 3 - It’s unclear when Finish Line was to open. The manager there declined to comment to me. A manager of another mall store said Finish Line sometimes opens at 8 a.m.

Anyway, all that waiting apparently generated some bad energy and impatience. Security officers tried to organize the crowd into two single-file lines so the customers could “enter the store in an orderly fashion and prevent conflict,” Peoria police said. But the mass of visitors ignored the request and just kept milling around, running their mouths, police said.

To get their attention, the lone Peoria police officer yelled to get their attention. It worked — for a few moments. They listened quietly as the officer made the same request for calm, single-file lines. They then blew him off and started jawing again.

“I got no cooperation from the group and they refused to act in an orderly fashion,” the officer wrote in his report.

The officer noticed other people — those uninterested in Air Jordans — kept arriving into the mall. What would happen if a riot were to break out inside the mall? The city police officer didn’t want to find out.

“In the interest of the public safety, security officers at the scene felt that we had no chance but to move the mob outside,” the city officer said.

But even outside — and remember, it was early, so the parking lot offered plenty of space for everyone to spread out — the city officer worried about the mob turning ugly.

“I was in fear chaos could break out, causing ... damage to the mall and compromising safety,” the officer wrote in his report.

So, he called for backup. Twelve other officers responded. But the police cleared the throng from the lot.

Peoria police then contacted the manager at Finish Line, describing what had transpired. Police “strongly advised” the manager not to proceed with the sale of the shoes, the report stated. The manager was warned that if a sale were to occur and spark problems, the manager could be charged with disorderly conduct or obstructing police.

According to the report, the manager said he should’ve used a lottery system, as he’d done with previous Air Jordan releases. With that system, customers put their names on entry blanks, and a certain number — reflecting the number of pairs of shoes available — are pulled out of a hopper at random. That occurs days in advance, with the names posted online.

These being Air Jordans, it’s not as if there are many no-shows. So, with almost no chance to get a pair of the shoes, hangers-on don’t bother to besiege the store. Why didn’t Finish Line use that system with the new shoe release? Good question.

Page 3 of 3 - The report doesn’t say whether the lottery system was used later that day. And the manager wouldn’t discuss the matter. But by Monday, all the new Air Jordans were long gone.

Also Saturday, after warning Finish Line about the mob, police contacted Champs, another athletic-shoe store in the mall. But Champs used the lottery system to sell its new Air Jordans. A worker there told me there was no trouble at Champs on Saturday.

“That’s why we use that system,” he said.

That’s smart. I’d imagine Finish Line will be that smart from now on.

Still, you’d like to think — lottery or no — Peorians could control themselves over something as silly as overpriced sneakers.